Housing DiscriminatioN

The Right to a Home Free from Discrimination

Where you live shapes every part of your life — your access to jobs, your health, your children's schools, and your sense of belonging in a community. No one should be denied a home, charged more, or forced out of their housing because of their race, disability, family status, or any other protected characteristic.

Rights & Remedies represents tenants, homebuyers, and homeowners in Connecticut who have faced housing discrimination. Our attorneys have deep experience in fair housing law, including cases involving reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities, source-of-income discrimination, and discriminatory evictions.

What Is Housing Discrimination?

Housing discrimination occurs when a landlord, property manager, real estate agent, lender, neighbor, or homeowners' association treats you differently because of a protected characteristic. It can happen at any stage of the housing process — when applying to rent an apartment, trying to buy a home, seeking a loan, or after you are already in your home.

Examples of illegal housing discrimination include:

• Refusing to rent or sell to you because of your race, religion, national origin, sex, disability, or familial status

• Charging you more rent or offering worse terms than similarly situated tenants because of a protected characteristic

• Refusing to make reasonable accommodations or modifications for tenants or buyers with disabilities (including denying an emotional support animal)

• Steering you toward certain neighborhoods based on your race or national origin

• Discriminating based on source of income — for example, refusing to accept Section 8 housing vouchers (prohibited in Connecticut)

• Harassment, threats, or intimidation based on a protected characteristic

• Discriminatory eviction proceedings

Federal and State Fair Housing Protections

The federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, and familial status. Connecticut's Fair Housing Act extends these protections further, prohibiting discrimination based on source of income, lawful source of income, gender identity or expression, and other characteristics.

Connecticut is also one of a growing number of states where landlords cannot refuse to rent to tenants using government housing assistance, including Section 8 vouchers. If a landlord has turned you away because of how you pay your rent, you may have a legal claim.

Reasonable Accommodations and Modifications

If you have a disability, the law requires housing providers to make reasonable accommodations in their rules, policies, and practices to give you equal opportunity to use and enjoy your housing. This can include allowing an assistance animal in a no-pets building, modifying lease terms, or allowing physical modifications to your unit.

Reasonable accommodation cases are a particular strength of our firm. Our attorneys have handled disability-related housing cases at the administrative level and in court, and we have experience advocating for clients with physical disabilities, mental health conditions, and other qualifying disabilities under the FHA and state law.

How We Can Help

We handle fair housing cases at the administrative level — including complaints to the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) — as well as in state and federal court. We also help clients understand whether they have a claim and what the process looks like before committing to formal action.

If you believe you have been discriminated against in housing, contact us for a free consultation. Time limits for filing fair housing complaints are strict — often as soon as 300 days from the discriminatory act — so it is important to reach out as soon as possible.